Marginalia Americana 3

During the Vietnam War, many non-Americans served in the US military. They were US residents who chose it as the quickest way to earn US citizenship. How many of them are doing the same in Iraq? Iraq is far less dangerous, yet we do not hear about them this time. You would think a military that is being forced to lower its enlistment standards would go out of its way to recruit able-bodied, eager foreigners. Or has the war not gone on long enough to let media attention turn to such trivial matters?

How many Japanese, for that matter? Several Japanese went to Vietnam, and some had their 15 minutes' fame as they recounted their experiences.

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Huckleberry Finn was, is, and always will be The Great American Novel. Why does President Bush (this one) remind me of Tom Sawyer?

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Speaking of novels, Elmore Leonard never fails to please. He gives you exactly what you are expecting each and every time. Yet he is free of the clichés and tics that even good crime writers often acquire. In Leonard's hands, even minor cardboard-cutout characters come to life.